Headset and forks?!?!

lmk30 said:

Hi again,
Just bought a GT racer off my friend, it's got decent components (tiagra and 105) but as it's a 2002/2003 model, hasn't got a carbon fork . Will thus change them to new ones (the frame is so stiff it'll hopefully add some comfort...) but this has led to 2 questions:
Firstly, what forks would you recommend that won't break the bank ($150 tops)
Secondly, the bike has a traditional threaded stem, would you recommend changing this to an Ahead stem? Need to decide before I get forks! 😕
Thanks again!

Don't waste your money. Besides the fork,you will aslo have to have threadless headset and stem, unless you happen to find a threaded CF fork.

boudreaux said:

Don't waste your money. Besides the fork,you will aslo have to have threadless headset and stem, unless you happen to find a threaded CF fork.

Cheers, I suspected it'd be difficult to find a threaded CF fork... I might just have a look though to see if anyone sells these.

Oh, just found a quill adaptor to convert to an aheadset and it's just £12. Might that be worth a try? Cheers

lmk30 said:

Oh, just found a quill adaptor to convert to an aheadset and it's just £12. Might that be worth a try? Cheers

The quill adaptor is used with a threaded fork to allow use of a stem designed for threadless fork (that has no quill to insert into the fork). It does not change the headset. If you are going with a new threadless fork, you will not avoid the expense of a new headset (ahead style), and new stem.

My advice to deal with the harsh ride-try a slightly larger tire.

John M said:

The quill adaptor is used with a threaded fork to allow use of a stem designed for threadless fork (that has no quill to insert into the fork). It does not change the headset. If you are going with a new threadless fork, you will not avoid the expense of a new headset (ahead style), and new stem.

My advice to deal with the harsh ride-try a slightly larger tire.

Thanks again! Spoke to the guy at my local workshop who told me to bring it in so that he could see whether it'd be worth doing anything about the fork and the headset. However, have a v. short upper body and when I took the bike for its first proper ride today (only got it 2 days ago) I felt I could really do with a shorter stem, so might have to change that anyway, irrespective of the fork. Luckily, I didn't really perceive the ride to be as uncomfortable as some had led me to believe, so just a change of headset + stem might be in place.
Thanks a lot!

If you were blindfolded you almost certainly wouldn't notice any difference between your current fork and a new carbon one in terms of ride comfort. The whole "carbon forks are more comfortable because they damp road vibration, blah, blah, blah" is pure hype generated by manufacturer's marketing departments and bike publications from my experience.

If you do it to make your bike look cooler and maybe to drop a few grams of weight that's one thing. But if you really think it'll make the ride of your bike more comfortable, it really won't.

I went from an aluminum fork to a carbon fork and now I'm back to a crowned steel fork. Fork material makes no noticable difference in comfort. If you really want a more comfortable ride, put some fatter tires on your bike and run them at a lower pressure. That'll make way more difference that any fork material ever will. Just my $0.02.